Go Back
Lemon Blackberry Pound Cake, sliced, on a cake plate.
Print Recipe
No ratings yet

Lemon Blackberry Pound Cake

This moist and buttery Lemon Blackberry Pound Cake is so delicious. Homemade lemon pound cake is swirled with blackberry preserves and fresh blackberries.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 15
Author: Melissa and Bebe

Ingredients

  • 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened (339 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cups sugar (600g)
  • 5 large eggs, room temperature (you can warm them in a bowl of warm water if you are in a hurry)
  • 3 cups All Purpose Flour (375g)
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder (2g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Zest of 2 Lemons approximately 2 Tablespoons
  • 1 tablespoon Lemon Extract 12g We used McCormick- See Notes Below
  • 3 Tablespoons (42g) Lemon Juice (approximate amount of juice in one lemon)
  • 1 cup Milk (235g) (We use 2 percent or whole)

For the Blackberry Swirl

  • ⅓ cup Seedless Blackberry Preserves or Jam (We used preserves)
  • 6 oz Fresh Blackberries, sliced into small pieces (adjust amount to your liking). We reserved 6 blackberries for the top of the cake. (Frozen should work also but we have not tried frozen with this recipe)
  • ½ cup Cake Batter
  • Red or deep pink coloring gel- (optional) to brighten the color. We used a very small amount of red.

For the Lemon Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • ½ teaspoon lemon extract you could also use lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons Milk to reach desired consistency. (Start with 2 and increase as needed.)

Garnish

  • Lemon slices & Fresh Blackberries

Instructions

  • Grease and flour a tube pan or bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Wash and dry 10-12 fresh blackberries and slice into small pieces-- You may notice a white "core" in the center- it is edible and fairly soft, but you can slice around it if you'd like. Set sliced berries to the side.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, salt, and baking powder for 30 seconds to combine. Set aside for later.
  • In a measuring cup or small bowl, add the milk, lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Set aside for later.
  • Cream the softened butter with the paddle attachment in your mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and mix until lightened in color and fluffy 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk blends in.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. We do three additions of the flour mixture and two of the milk mixture. Mix just until blended. * Don't add to pan yet.
    Lemon Pound Cake Batter in a mixing bowl.
  • Scoop ⅓ cup of blackberry jam into a small bowl and give it a good stir to loosen it a bit.
    Blackberry jam in a bowl.
  • Add ½ cup of cake batter to the bowl of blackberry jam and stir to combine. I also added a touch of red coloring gel to brighten the color a bit, but this is optional. Stir the sliced blackberries.
    Lemon Blackberry batter in a bowl.
  • Scoop about half of the lemon batter (approximately 3.5 cups or so) into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan and lightly smooth it with the back of a spoon to level (or tap the side of the pan to level it).
  • Next, layer on the blackberry batter slightly smoothing to even out. You can sprinkle on a few sliced blackberries if you see any areas that need it. I think it is best to keep the fresh blueberries from touching the side of the pan when possible.
    Layered Batter in a bundt pan.
  • Layer on the remaining lemon batter. Tap the sides of the pan to smooth/level everything out, or gently smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
    Batter in the pan.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with just a few crumbs attached.) Baking times can vary and so peek in as it approaches the 1 hour mark. If the top of the cake begins to get too dark, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. (Ours took closer to 70 minutes to finish baking).
    Freshly baked Lemon Blackberry Pound Cake.
  • This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of batter.
  • Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning out onto serving plate.

For the Easy Lemon Glaze

  • Combine ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. If too thin, add a bit more sugar, if too thick, add a bit more milk.
  • Apply the glaze to the cooled cake using a spoon, or for more control, spoon into a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away and drizzle over the cake.
  • As an optional step, after glazing the cake, we lightly tapped a bit of confectioners sugar through a fine mesh strainer over the top of the cake.
  • For garnish, top with fresh blackberries and thinly sliced lemon.

Storage

  • While I don't think of this as a highly perishable dessert, to be on the safe side, I would refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container or sealed cake box, etc. For the very best flavor and texture, remove the cake from the refrigerator at least a couple of hours before serving as the cake will become more firm when cold (due to the butter in the recipe).

Notes

Freezing: This cake can be wrapped and frozen for up to three months! Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, followed by foil. To thaw, place in the refrigerator the night before, still wrapped. Move to room temperature the next morning. 
Lemon Extract There are many brands of Lemon Extract- we use McCormick most often. Make sure that you smell the extract before using as sometimes it can go bad. It should smell lemony ;0)